The establishment of a hydrogen economy must be based on the integration of currently available technologies with the development of innovative new concepts for all aspects of hydrogen production, storage, and use in industrial, stationary, and mobile applications. Those facilitating this energy transition require extensive knowledge spanning production, storage and transport, thermochemical and electrochemical utilization — from fundamental to technological levels — as well as life-cycle assessment and socioeconomic analysis.
To address the major fundamental challenges of a hydrogen-based economy, the IRTG is structured around five research areas. Four focus on individual aspects — production, storage and transport, and thermochemical and electrochemical utilization of hydrogen. In addition, a cross-sectional area (CSA) addresses life-cycle assessment and system and socioeconomic analysis spanning the full spectrum of hydrogen-related technologies.
Systems Design & Life-Cycle Assessment
Production
Storage & Transport
Thermochemical Utilization
Electrochemical Utilization
Systems Design & Life-Cycle Assessment
The advancement of hydrogen-related technologies and the hydrogen economy must be built on reliable assessments of economic feasibility, environmental impact, and efficiency. These assessments are essential for determining competitiveness with established reference systems and must be continuously applied to novel hydrogen production, transport, storage, and utilization technologies. Integrating these aspects into an overall energy system model is necessary to build public confidence. The CSA addresses assessments of hydrogen-based technologies and systems at various scales under socioeconomic, techno-economic, and environmental criteria, covering the following sub-topics:
- Design of sustainable socio-economic hydrogen energy systems
- Life-cycle analyses and ecosystems research
Production
水素を基盤とした持続可能なエネルギーの未来を実現するためには，持続可能な製造方法が不可欠です。RA1は主に，CO2フリーな水素エネルギーキャリアの製造を可能にする電気触媒的水分解に焦点を当てています。RA1の2つ目のサブトピックは，グレー水素技術のカーボンフットプリントを削減する革新的な手法を扱います。サブトピックは以下の通りです。
- Green hydrogen production from electrocatalytic water splitting
- Reducing the carbon footprint of grey hydrogen production
Storage & Transport
Hydrogen transport and storage are critical for the roll-out of a hydrogen economy, with associated burdens potentially comprising 35% of the overall greenhouse gas footprint. Due to hydrogen's low volumetric energy density, long-distance transport and local distribution are challenging. Physical methods such as compression and liquefaction, as well as chemical methods including liquid organic hydrogen carriers (LOHCs) and solid-phase sorption, have been explored. RA2 brings together these important topics under the following sub-topics:
- Electrochemical hydrogen compression
- Chemical hydrogen storage
Thermochemical Utilization
Using hydrogen in thermochemical energy conversion processes creates unique opportunities to decarbonize power generation, industrial process heat, and mobility. This IRTG considers applications particularly relevant for the energy transition: internal combustion engines (ICE), stationary burners in gas turbines and industrial furnaces, and hydrogen as a reducing agent in steelmaking. Major fundamental and engineering challenges are addressed in the following sub-topics:
- Hydrogen conversion in internal combustion engines
- Hydrogen burners in gas turbines and industrial furnaces
- Hydrogen as reducing agent in steelmaking
Electrochemical Utilization
The electrochemical utilization of hydrogen offers several advantages — particularly in fuel cells, where electrochemical conversion achieves higher energy efficiency than thermochemical processes. These processes typically have zero (or near-zero) emissions during operation, with water as the main byproduct. Fuel cells can be applied across transportation, stationary power generation, and portable devices, offering significant decarbonization potential. RA4 focuses on research from electrochemistry and materials to fuel cell systems, driving improvements in performance, durability, cost, and application range, while also considering the interactions between these aspects. The following sub-topics are addressed:
- Electrochemistry in fuel cells
- Materials characterization in fuel cells
- Fuel cell systems
